Ash have unearthed a remarkable piece of their history with the release of ‘Bittersweet Blue’, a long-lost track that dates back to the recording sessions for the band’s landmark debut album, 1977. Originally written before the band entered Rockfield Studios in 1996, Bittersweet Blue was performed live by Ash before it had even been completed lyrically, recorded shortly afterwards and then ultimately left behind as the band refined the songs that would become their chart-topping debut.
Ash @ Scala
Three decades later, the song has finally been recovered and completed, with Bittersweet Blue now released as a 7-inch single accompanied by a brand-new video.
The discovery is particularly remarkable given the track’s history. Ash originally wrote the song ahead of the Rockfield 96 recording sessions and performed it while supporting Therapy? at The Point Depot in Dublin in December 1995. By early January 1996, the band had committed the song to tape, but it was subsequently dropped as other material began to take shape and ultimately formed the album that would propel the teenage Northern Irish band to the top of the UK charts.
Yet Bittersweet Blue had already become something of a favourite within the band. So much so that Tim Wheeler would perform it live despite the song not yet having complete lyrics, improvising and developing the words as he went. For years, the track appeared destined to remain part of Ash’s mythology — perhaps existing only on a handful of old tapes and lucky bootlegs. Then the trail went cold.
As drummer Rick McMurray explains, the song resurfaced decades later when the band’s back catalogue was moved to a new home for digitisation. Missing master tapes were discovered, prompting a search that would eventually lead back to the elusive recording. The mystery was finally solved when Wheeler discovered that the original tape had been mislabelled. But recovering the tape was only the beginning.
Ash @ Ipswich Regent Theatre
What remained was far from a finished Ash recording. There was a usable drum take, bass, some rhythm guitars and a scratch vocal — but crucially, there were no finished lyrics. Rather than abandon the track for a second time, the band decided to resurrect it. Wheeler effectively had to reconnect with the teenager who had written and performed the song 30 years earlier, reconstructing the missing lyrics and completing a piece of Ash history that had been sitting unfinished since the 1977 era.
The result is Bittersweet Blue, a genuine sonic time capsule from the period in which Ash were transforming themselves from teenage hopefuls into one of the defining guitar bands of the Britpop era. The accompanying video continues that journey through time. Rather than attempting to recreate the past elsewhere, Ash returned to their formative rehearsal space — the very place where they first played Bittersweet Blue all those years ago.
The setting gives the video an appropriately full-circle quality, connecting the band they were in the mid-1990s with the musicians they have become three decades later. It also gives the space itself a permanent place in the band’s story.
Bittersweet Blue arrives as anticipation builds for the 30th Anniversary Edition of 1977, due for release on 16th October via BMG.
Originally released in 1996, 1977 is the platinum-selling debut that takes Ash from teenage upstarts to Britpop-era icons. Fuelled by breakneck energy, razor-sharp hooks and a succession of instantly recognisable singles, the album includes enduring favourites such as Girl From Mars, Goldfinger, Kung Fu, Oh Yeah, Lose Control and Darkside Lightside. Three decades on, the anniversary collection offers an expansive look back at the era while also adding material that has never previously been available in this form.
The anniversary celebrations will also extend to the stage, with Ash continuing their global 1977 tour throughout 2026. Following dates across Japan, Southeast Asia and Europe, the band return to the UK and Ireland in November and December for a run of shows that includes two London appearances. The tour provides another opportunity to hear the songs that established Ash at the height of the Britpop era, while the rediscovery of Bittersweet Blue adds an entirely new chapter to the story of an album that has already survived three decades.
Ash @ Wembley Arena
For a band whose career has been built around youthful energy, melodic songwriting and an enduring connection with their fans, there is something particularly fitting about Ash reaching back into their teenage years and finding a song they thought had disappeared forever. Thirty years after it was first recorded, Bittersweet Blue is finally getting its moment.
Upcoming UK & Ireland Live Dates:
NOVEMBER
25th – London, Electric Ballroom
26th – Bristol, Electric
28th – Limerick, Spiegeltent
29th – Cork, Cyprus Avenue
DECEMBER
1st – Torquay, Arena
2nd – Southampton, O2 Guildhall
4th – Cardiff, Tramshed
5th – Norwich, UEA
6th – Nottingham, Rock City
8th – Manchester, Albert Hall
9th – Dublin, Olympia
10th – Belfast, Ulster Hall
12th – Newcastle, Northumbria SU
13th – Glasgow, Barrowlands
15th – Birmingham, O2 Institute
16th – Leeds, O2 Academy
17th – London, Roundhouse
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